South Korean rapper Psy — you may have heard of him — spent time during the last decade attending anti-American protests in his country. He even rapped the following about the Americans:
Kill those Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives/Kill those Yankees who ordered them to torture/Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law, and fathers/Kill them slowly and painfully
Psy is meeting President Obama Sunday and will be in a Christmas TV special with him that airs on December 21. Those old lyrics about killing Americans “slowly and painfully” are suddenly a problem for him.
So here comes the “sorry I was caught” apology.
“As a proud South Korean who was educated in the United States and lived there for a very significant part of my life, I understand the sacrifices American servicemen and women have made to protect freedom and democracy in my country and around the world,” said Psy in a statement. “The song – from eight years ago – was part of a deeply emotional reaction to the war in Iraq and the killing of two innocent Korean civilians that was part of the overall antiwar sentiment shared by others around the world at that time. While I’m grateful for the freedom to express one’s self I’ve learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I’m deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted. I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused anyone by those words.
The statement continues, “I have been honored to perform in front of American soldiers in recent months – including an appearance on the Jay Leno show specifically for them – and I hope they and all Americans can accept my apology. While it’s important we express our opinions, I deeply regret the inflammatory and inappropriate language I used to do so. In my music I try to give people a release, a reason to smile. I have learned that though music, our universal language we can all come together as a culture of humanity and I hope that you will accept my apology.”
His “Gangnam Style” video has been watched more than 902 million times since it was uploaded to YouTube in July. It has spawned more imitations and copycats than Elvis. Now it turns out that it came from a bona fide America hater.
The two innocent Koreans were two schoolgirls who were killed in an accident involving two US soldiers stationed in Korea. Their accident in no way justified rapping about killing Americans “slowly and painfully.” Nor did the bad actions of a few US troops in a war zone that Psy cannot comprehend.
This fellow lived in this country and is from a country that America has protected for 60 years. More than 50,000 Americans died protecting his country, and countless Americans put their lives on the line to protect his country across the decades.
For what? So ingrates can turn around and fantasize about killing Americans? Why do we do this?
I think I’m done with the world. It’s not just this idiot, it’s how the entire world treats the United States like a fool and a villain. Maybe it’s time to pull all of our troops out of every nation that we currently protect and cut them all loose. No more military protection. No more disaster relief. No more foreign aid. Nothing. We take care of our own and no one else.
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